Why Did This 1968 Dodge Charger R/T Just Sell At Mecum For $170,000? (It’s Unsafe And Bad)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- If you see something, say something. I saw something in the pictures of this outwardly beautiful Charger that is so stupid and downright unsafe, I had to say something. So here we are. Auction buyer beware.
At $150k plus, a buyer should be picky of whatever car they are contemplating purchasing. You are 100% spot-on.
Damn right! I would never lay down those figures for anything that was under 100% right!
I think it is a bit much to use 16 minutes to rant over a small unoriginal breakline which can quickly be replaced. The car looked fine to me, except I would never buy a musclecar which is equiped with drum breaks on the front wheels.
that Charger was crap. I sold a better 440 RT back in the 80's for $700. Really, there is nothing special at all about those cars except the style which the Fast and Furious franchise made iconic. I bought a 68' L89 Corvette to replace it. Now, that was a special car, far superior to the Charger in everything.
@@thorsrensen3162 If you didn't think it was worth it, why did you watch the whole thing? He picked out a whole host of other problems with the car, or did you miss those? If the brake (not break) line was such a simple job and they couldn't even get that right, it's a bad sign. Or does the idea of 4000 lbs of Mopar running into you because some hack couldn't figure out how to flare a brake line not bother you?
@@americanAlienBoy I have never seen a metal tubing being rupture from the force of a brakepedal so I bet it will hold I would nok be affraid of driving this car.
Good job. Not the first time Mecum has sold junk for an absurd amount.
I recently "visited" an Iowa dealer that bought marginal 1st round cars at Meacum. They had a recent 67 El Camino. I got up to the bed, it was solid rust, and my finger practically went through it. It was paper thin and I noticed the last owner spray painted it over with some kind of black coating. The salesman said they hadn't yet priced it, but it would be in the mid to high twenties when they did. If you are into paying a fortune for overpriced salvage/scrap iron, then gladly allow yourself to be a newbie into the realm of "classic cars". If you have FU money, then send a professional to inspect before buying and get documentation of restoration work done and expect to pay more than any mere millionaire would want to pay. $170,000 for that junk? Buyer beware!
@@daveminer9217 I use to blame cars like this on buyers with more money than intelligence they just what one and it’s shiny. I think they were the kids that would have the tantrums screaming I want it until mommy gave in this is them grown up with big bank accounts.
@@daveminer9217 , out of curiosity would that shop be near Iowa City? I'm not going to name them because I like going there and looking.
What I really want to know is how people that dam dumb have money. I always considered people with money much smarter than me because I am just an average working stiff. An I haven’t been able to make money to throw away like that. Maybe I am in wrong line of work, probably should be offering my extensive automotive knowledge for sale.!😀
@@bullittboost6046 Doesn't take smarts to be born into money. I worked with a guy that "forgot" that he had 10K in a bank account somewhere. (Yeah, that isn't big money, but like you said, I'm just an average working stiff.)
Auctions are deliberately hyped to a feeding frenzy for a reason. A well informed cautious buyer, isn’t always a buyer. Fair and accurate video. Well done.
Good point. I bet this buyer, wishes they went somewhere else, that day.
>>> === They say E bodys : 71 Challenger or Cuda / B bodys : 68 Charger or Daytona / C bodys : 71 Fury Sport. These Mopar type alone will ALWAYS bring VERY TOP ... T O P dollar. True supply and demand never lies I guess. ===
Geez, that thing was nasty, super shade tree.
From one Mopar guy to another... THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! It's so unbelievable that someone would spend that much money on a car like that when the pictures make it so obvious that whoever "restored" the car did a terrible job. You'd think if they were going to spend that much money they would at least hire somebody to look it over closely if they're not going to. By the way, I love your car collection! Great video, thanks for sharing!
I bet they found a sucker and bid him up to the max then jumped out! Inside jobs happen.
@@SpectrumRob yep. Scruples and honor have left a long time ago. Gold fever I guess. Old movie called used cars is a manual for these guys. Big money kills the little guys over and over like it did in racing. Yet without grassroots racers and hot rodders, the ones swallowed up by the big money , where would we be. The future is bleak for car guys. The starting point is out of reach for regular folk from the get go with anything in modern muscle. We are a dying breed. Future guys have little chance. Very little.
@@ss67camaronut you are spot on! This would have been a $2000 car at best in the late 80s. I passed up a 71 Barracuda for $400 back then, too much rot. Same with a '68 Roadrunner for $800. I inherited a 69 RS/SS 396 4 speed, hasn't been on the road since the 70s, but garage kept. Only way I'm able to even have something like that these days. Rich idiots have ruined almost every hobby. They don't do it for the love of the hobby, they only want to see a return on investment.
@@blackcatpgh13 you got it. My ss350 and convertible 67s have been garaged since 87. 68 conv rotted to shit outside but I refuse to scrap it. Has clean title . Sold my 69 pace car in 96 when blew a knee . Broke my back in 98 and been scratching to survive ever since but I refuse to sell them to pay frickn Bill's as long as I'm surviving. I'll get to them , or my son will after I'm gone. I bought em all between age 15 n 18 . Worked since 10 and had no help from parents. I'm 57 and kids are grown n wife gone so soon. I cant wait to enjoy them again. And I will. Just a few more obstacles that should be cleared in next 18 months and I'm going to finally be set. Been thru an upside down world for 25 hard years and know I'll never have money to spare but finally can at least give myself a little priority . Almost there. No rich bastard gonna get my cars. Almost there.
@@ss67camaronut Good luck on getting yours back on the road. My plan is to get everything mechanically sound and drive around refusing sales offers from rich idiots that can't understand how a dirtbag like me has a car like that. I'm not going to repaint it, either. It is a 375HP 396 with a Muncie 4 speed, and a 4.56 diff. The person that special ordered that car knew what they were doing. Fender tag proves it - special order. Best of luck on the health issues, that sounds rough.
As a licensed mechanic in Ontario Canada I can tell you a compression fitting on a hydraulic brake line is illegal, and would fail inspection. I agree with you 100% that whomever did this did probably committed other acts of butchery elsewhere on this car and i would not touch with a 10 and one half foot pole.
I read a book by Carroll Smith, a famous racecar engineer. He believed that you _must completely disassemble any used racecar and replace every nut, bolt, fastener and fitting._ After seeing multiple versions of this build quality on different cars, I understand why.
I think these rolling wrecks are the standard, not the exception.
Makes sense, but money is the issue.
the nuts and bolts are fine it’s the bushings and ball joints that wear out
Yup. And even an honest owner may cut a slight corner out of expedience every now and then. Something like using a regular bolt where a grade 5 or 8 should go *might* be okay, but over the 50 or 60 years some of these cars have been driving, and passing through multiple owners, those little time/cost-savers can add up and become a serious issue.
I bought a 65 Mustang fastback survivor which is in overall good condition, 60,000 miles, previous owner had it repainted in 2009. On purchase I went over all the safety-related stuff, baselined everything, and gave it my own seal of approval. A month later - after driving it nearly every day - when I went to replace the carpeting I discovered the passenger seat wasn't bolted in. Like, at all. It was just sitting loose on the floor pan. How it got that way is anyone's guess (I suspect the painter), but it just illustrates how things get forgotten or bypassed over the years. You have to use the finest of fine-tooth combs on these cars!
@@ML-dl1cp Also hard believing it's 60k mi when there is a digit missing on old odometers from 60yr old cars. Very doubtful. All the sellers have to say is" as far as I know it is correct". Could be true but very hard to confirm. After a car goes through many different owners upkeep eventually someone has to redo all of it. Looks good as new then bam it's only got 60k on it again just like 40years earlier just because the seller says so
@@plap. yup. Although mine sat in a barn from 1972-2009, so the 60k is probably on-point in this case.
At the end of the day ,the auction gives you plenty of time to check the car out either yourself or hire somebody to do so , so if you buy a car and it's like this one , you honestly deserve to get what you get . All cars should be fully looked at before you raise your hand .
You’re absolutely right.
It's just dirty on the owner part for selling something like that we call that half assed 🤔
>>> === They say E bodys : 71 Challenger or Cuda / B bodys : 68 Charger or Daytona / C bodys : 71 Fury Sport. These Mopar type alone will ALWAYS bring VERY TOP ... T O P dollar. True supply and demand never lies I guess. ===
I'm spoiled, I would not give more than $5K for it. I sold a nicer one for $700, OK, that was in the 80's.
Wow! The title of the video made me look and this is totally not what I expected! I can’t believe all the issues with this car when it is on the $170k price range! I agree with you as to the question, if all these issues are so easy to find, what else is hiding that we can’t see. If you are lacks on stuff you can see, I would think hidden stuff would also be not well done. Thanks for you video! I don’t think you are wrong.
I have a 66 383 727 Charger Survivor with all the paperwork, original interior. It's not a 68 but the interiors are better. Only paid 17k for her 2 years ago.
>>> === They say E bodys : 71 Challenger or Cuda / B bodys : 68 Charger or Daytona / C bodys : 71 Fury Sport. These Mopar type alone will ALWAYS bring VERY TOP ... T O P dollar. True supply and demand never lies I guess. ===
Back in 1983 when i was 17 years old i was moving from the cleveland area of ohio to roanoke va. I owned at the time a bright orange 69 charger with the 383 engine. I was forced to drive that charger 450 miles all by myself due to the fact that i had next to no money. At 150 miles into this trip a rotted out brake line burst and left the car with zero brakes(and i mean none!) I barely had enough money on me to buy fuel to get to virginia, let alone hire a tow truck. I didnt even have the ability or money to get to a parts store to buy a length of steel brake line, and had no tools to install it even if i could. So, i literally drove that 69 charger the additional 300 miles to virginia using only the barely working parking brake to slow down the car and sometimes even get it stopped. I was scared beyond crapless but somehow made it home alive with that car. 100 percent true story of a young and stupid broke 17 year old kid that i will never ever forget!
You grew up tougher too ! A great life experience !
I did a similar thing when I was younger in a 97 ranger. Had to lock up the ebrake once
You're absolutely right about that car...and there were more issues than you even mentioned. For example, the crappy fit of the bumpers stood out to me. I've got a '68 Corvette that had been "restored" by some "professional" shop. They made so many mistakes and cut so many corners that I'm having to do a complete frame off rebuild just to be able to safely drive it. Even though they had already done a frame off rebuild, they neglected to replace the rotted body mounts and seat belt mounts. Only 4 of the 9 body mounts were holding anything....and two of checked this car out underneath with it on a lift. You couldn't see those issues with the car assembled. I drove the car that way for 3 months before discovering the problem....and MANY more. The paint looks amazing, but this is the worst and most expensive polished turd I've ever owned. I wouldn't have been able to pay someone to fix this car, but thankfully I can repair it properly myself.
Wow. Yeah, I really think that’s what’s going on here. Pretty decent paint job hiding so much bad stuff. I do think I mentioned the bumper fit? It’s obviously quite bad. If it didn’t make this video I might have cut it. Again I could spend days picking this car apart… I just wanted to hit on the big notes and talk about the crazy price and the stupid brake stuff.
Just found this. As the restorer and owner of a 1966 Dodge Coronet; this is why I bought a shell and frame and used my grandfather's and dad's Automotive manufacturing experience with Chrysler/ Mopar to rebuilt it TO Factory, no cheapness or wierd and unsafe corner-cutting.
This charger looks gorgeous, but ignorant decisions were made for the sake of profit. It is all fixable and hopefully gets detected and addressed by the buyer. That is alot of money for a Shade-Tree restoration. Mine took me from my sophomore year of HS ( 2009 ) to when I got married in 2014. It is now our weekend car lol. My Coronet is as close to factory as possible with modern parts and materials.
“Shade tree restoration” brings back fond memories of being sixteen/seventeen year old kids with just some tools, a pocket full of more dreams than money, a good number of very inexpensive local junkyards to spend endless hours wandering around in, and an old oak tree with that one perfectly thick branch at just the right height and angle in back of my dad’s less than desirable restaurant in a northern Michigan small town hit hard by the recession of the late 70’s.
Thankfully most of us survived the “builds” we “geniuses” somehow so proudly pieced together.
Man, if I had only put away just a few of those cars I somehow managed to get my hands on back in the day…I’d definitely have more money than dreams in my pocket today!
You jamie are an honest and fourthright man. I 100% agree with you and this video. The ugly fact is that there are thousands more "restorations" like this that need to be called out....and proly never will be.
I know it. In talking to Tom about making this video, he said “that’s every auction car” and I’m afraid he’s probably right. What put this on my radar is that it sold for $20-40k over the estimated price of a beautiful Hemi car at a different auction earlier this year. While I don’t know what that car actually sold for, it just seems completely insane. I wanted to know why, so I started scrolling through pictures and found this stuff. It truly boggles the mind.
@@DeadDodgeGarage "that's every auction car" is a bit of an exaggeration but a lot of them are like this and more reason to not buy a car of this value site unseen. See it in person before you buy/bid or hire someone to do an inspection. Way cheaper for that than getting stuck with a 6 digit turd.
>>> === They say E bodys : 71 Challenger or Cuda / B bodys : 68 Charger or Daytona / C bodys : 71 Fury Sport. These Mopar type alone will ALWAYS bring VERY TOP ... T O P dollar. True supply and demand never lies I guess. ===
"Unsafe at any speed" is the classic reference for the lack of sway bar. If you can afford to pay $170,000, you can afford a $250 inspection report. Too much alcohol involved in this purchase.
Actually, sway bars weren't standard until like 1960...
I would also venture a guess that there was too much alcohol involved in the build.
Hats off to you for you are very insightful and also polite with your assessments on this channel. First I'll say that in my opinion, this is probably the best color charger R/Ts came in and it looks like a beautiful paint job up close. I totally agree at this price range it should have continuous lines. throughout. In all honesty I've used the compression fittings on many cars 70's-80's cars of my own and never had any problems. I never knew their rating was low.
I was eight years old when this car was built and our neighbor Eddie had a Charger 500 in pale yellow that I used to see every day. Long before I could drive, I already loved the style of that car.
None of the cars sold at Mecum look like an original car did back then. They weren't that shiny, they didn't all have mag wheels and tinted glass, or consoles. It is hard to believe the prices that are paid .
I'm also amazed how many classic American cars are still preserved in general. There are still hundreds of thousands of them in all makes and years. Remarkable.
>>> === They say E bodys : 71 Challenger or Cuda / B bodys : 68 Charger or Daytona / C bodys : 71 Fury Sport. These Mopar type alone will ALWAYS bring VERY TOP ... T O P dollar. True supply and demand never lies I guess. ===
Really enjoyed your observations on this Charger. I'm a 1969 Camaro expert and have seen many Camaros for sale at Mecum and Barrett Jackson that say original, but are not correct. They may have a deluxe interior, then don't have the deluxe installed seat belts, or missing the wood grain trim on the dashboard areas. Seen many RS optioned Camaros missing the headlight washer nozzles in the pictures that also are part of the RS package. These are just a few examples. All I can say is "Buyer Beware!"
Yeah, “buyer beware cause seller’s don’t care!”
I know in '68s the deluxe belts were a separate option from the rest of the interior.
Was that different in 1969?
Car looks to be sitting lower than standard or is it ?
The insane price on these things ARE ruining the hobby.
All boils down to human greed how is it that the 426 Hemi as a crate engine cost more than a lot of cars I have great deal of respect for the 426 Hemi but it's a crate engine there's no reason for the cost of an engine to be over $20,000 other than human greed
Awesome video! I worked in the brake line industry for 22 year's and that compression fitting is just hideous! I feel sorry for the person who bought this car! They surely have money to burn, sadly they will probably pass this shoddy work on to another buyer in the future. But hopefully they will have all the bugs worked out by a good mechanic in the future if all this is brought to their attention, but there already in the hole on it in my opinion. It is great to see someone like yourself though that have learned these cars and are keeping the dream alive. Us old boomer's are getting too old to work on them now and I'm glad to see another generation carrying the torch!
Completely agreed. I’m trying to keep the dream alive. Haha.
@@DeadDodgeGarage "Alive" . . operative word
Just saw the article that a Ford Crown Vic can be converted into a late '60's Dodge Charger!
Owner probably earns 170g a month
@@BuzzLOLOL you can wrap a turd in tinfoil too.....
This has been going on for a long time with auction cars and even cars sold out of fancy showrooms. I have seen so many high dollar cars "tarted up" to sell to wealthy people who know nothing about cars but like the idea of owning an appreciating asset/investment that they can try to drive on a Sunday morning. Most can't even figure out how to start a car with a carburettor so they don't get driven much before they are re auctioned in a few years to the next sucker .
They have no clue what the knob with "choke" stamped on it I know my dad's 70 Ford f250 had one miss that truck BTW
The many of the younger generation today are spoiled and useless in so many ways. Growing up in the south if your starter or alternator failed you rebuilt in on sidewalk. I've had mechanics complain about getting a carbureted engine started and me taking 30 or less to get in running. Maybe not well but that's another job. Get your hands dirty and use your brain.
@@rickhale4348 is the parents not teaching them how to use a tire iron
@@zacariasblanco9738 My 16 year old son's transmission in his 1970 Dodge pickup. Show him how and he did the work. His 1973 Jeep Comando's rear-end needed replaced and he robbed a 9inch rear-end from one of my early Ford Bronchos. Son's tend to think what you own belongs to them. Son's need fathers and mothers. My wife and I have been together 40 years, happily.
@@rickhale4348 my daughter is 3 y/o but I always encourage my nephews to learn to change a flat tire because one day maybe triple A won't be available a couple are into slammed. Trucks and stuff when I was 12 I helped one of my older brothers to flip cars back in late 80's early 90'S we didn't have a place with the space to work on the cars so in a couple years I could swap a rear diff D To D from a 1979 Red trans am in 40 minutes without an impact just regular basic ratchet till this day I still look up to him and love him not only as my brother but what he did for me your son will feel the same way going to the mall or Facebook wont teach kids anything waste of time God bless brother be safe
Auctions are too often dumping grounds for cars that are poorly restored and flipped. Many buyers are not car people just people wanting cars that can’t do their own work.
Unfortunately, buyers are inadvertently rewarding greedy people for bad practices that lead to more continued bad behavior. This is a lesson to have a potential car purchase examined by a professional, especially on such a large purchase as this. Thanks for calling this one out!
As a novice mechanic I appreciate your video very much. Luckily my dream car Classic I got a couple of years ago is solid.
Nice! Mine is mostly solid. Haha. Much better than I ever figured I could get so I’m happy.
If someone spent that much money without looking it over first, well jokes on them. I accept that.
That’s why I’m not afraid to air the laundry out on this thing. I mean, they spent the money. I still feel like I should call this crap out. It’s bad for everyone.
@@DeadDodgeGarage absolutely, great video
@@DeadDodgeGarage EVERYONE!!
Deliberately incorporating time bomb "repairs" into a death trap isn't a joke- it's murder- and a good lawyer could prove it, and put you in jail. "As is" has it's legal limitations, even for crooks.
Excellent, informative, responsible video. I subscribed to your channel! Incidentally, any idea what a 1972 New Yorker Brougham, with NO rust, dents or body work, stored indoors for the last 30+ years, 440, ALMOST perfect in and out worth? Ran smooth off gravity feed, gas tank nasty. Thanks again!
I seen this car go across the block and it's ridiculous!! It's a sad day in Moparland when you see shit like this sell for exorbitant amounts of $! Thank you for the time/effort you put in to making this upload!! Well done sir!! ✌️ from Iowa
Did you seen?
Yeah, you got to be jay Leno to buy over priced jalopies like this
Fools with money.
@@BruceLee-xn3nn I'm sure Jay Leno knows what to look for before he buys a car.
@@Popwarner-x1w I was talking about the 170g price tag. I'm sure that's chump change to Jay
I worked at a local auto parts store when I was 18 years old. One of the other guys was waiting on a customer asking for 3/16 compression fittings and the customer also asked him if he could use them on brake lines. My coworker replied….. If you wish to die. He then explained how much pressure was in the normal braking system and then what compression fitting were rated around. The customer purchased the correct brake lines along with double flaring tool. I myself purchase lines and couplers to lengths that I never need to cut and double flare brake lines. The only use I have for compression fittings is transmission and fuel lines. This was and is a great and informative video. Thank you
Well done! Thanks for holding some hack's, feet to the fire. It's sad that there is so much of this type of thing going on. It's ruining the hobby for everyone. Keep up the great work!👍👍👍
Hopefully the guy that “restored” that car isn’t an aircraft mechanic in his spare time.
Maybe he works at Boeing installing door plugs on new 737s.
I have been to alot of Mecum auctions. The cars look great on TV but in person most of them are a real shit show. Still I keep going just because I like to see in person what's for sale and what they sell for. It makes me feel better about what I have.
Can’t believe $170k for that. It’s sad that the market has priced out the enthusiast.
I am an car fan and enjoy watching the auction shows to see cars I will never own. I remember this car, and gave it a glance through the photo's and thought to myself, "pretty nice". When you started pointing out things, I was like "how did I miss that?!" looking at the under front, I NEVER noticed the sway bar missing, let alone the neon orange strap. again, HOW did I miss that? was I even looking??. I would say, "Nope". I will definitely pay closer attention, and while I know absolutely SQUAT about fittings, I did think, "that brake line looks out of place". This from the guy who didn't even notice the neon orange masking tape. I swear, I really need to get my eyes checked. Thanks for showing me that I have a lot to learn.
I have bought several cars with issues I really should’ve noticed, but didn’t until later when the rose colored glasses came off… sometimes these things happen when we get excited about stuff.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Dude, we are also affected by the masses being willing to offer up buckets of money for shytte that shouldn't be ALLOWED on the auction carpet. Mecum is just swimming in the tailwash of Barrett Jackson. And Barrett Jackson had cars with visible rust back in '87. They've upped their screening and game, to where they won't LET a shyster like this car builder on their carpet. Creating a market for also rans, like Mecum and Russo Steele. Let alone Kruse in Northern Indiana. They got so crooked their owner was removed from the business by regulatory agencies.
The old adage of "buyer beware" surely fits this one.
I agree with your assessment of this car 100%. Pretty rough undercarriage for that kind of money too. Oil pan looks hammered as well.
I appreciate the Charger R/T that I have sooo much more now.
Thank you for the wholesome entertainment and intelligent perspective
Honestly glad mine is just a 383 car. It’s exactly what I wanted! But that R/T badge would have been neat. Haha. Thanks for watching!
Great observation my brother, excellent points to all the flaw’s in the vehicle for what it sold for. Thank you for your expertise and your experience in what to look for when purchasing classic Automobiles.
Your on spot in your in your observation great job can’t wait until the next video.
Maybe too much time has passed since I paid attention to the auctions/ prices but in my humble opinion for $170, 000 the car should be pretty much perfect.
BTW , I fell in love with your 68’ Charger. Very nice car.
Exactly! I completely agree. Even given how crazy the market is today, a 440 R/T at that price point should be absolutely flawless. Yes I love mine. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but by my standards it’s amazing. It’s basically parked for the winter currently, except for the odd dry weekend drive.
I'm in Canada and even with late 60s Chargers being relatively rare, a 68 R/T just sold in my area for $70k (about US $52,000) and it was pretty much 8/10 and with all work done properly and a receipt book to prove it. For $170k here you could get three, and have them personally delivered by Scarlett Johannson in a French maid outfit.
If the engine, transmission and rear end were in very good to excellent condition, and the AC worked, I doubt that was the case though, then maybe $30,000 to $40,000. I've owned three 440 magnum MOPARS and one 340. 1968 Charger RT, 1969 GTX, 1970 Challenger RT/SE and the 1972 340 Challenger. The best was the 1969 GTX that I bought from the original owner when it was one and a half years old. They all had AC, power steering, power brakes and automatic trans. Actually, they all were in practically new condition. This car for that ridiculous price is sh t! The seller made out/was a bandit, and the buyer was a fool. I've got a bridge in Brooklyn that I'll sell to him...
Uh, what? I fell asleep halfway....
@@CaptainCraigKWMRZ no matter
I saw yesterday that Tyler Hovie's Hemi superbird go for only 170K at auction. While it was a funky restomod I would have brought the superbird.
Hoovies bird was the same story as this car when he got it. At least his car was gone through and fixed and documented for all the world to see so you know you're getting a drivable car
These auctions are ruining the hobby.
But having played this game myself, people have to understand these auctions re the same three hundred guys showing whose wallet is bigger each time. The peripheral people are the ones who get burned like this.
Important take away from the above statement is not the often bad cars, it's the size of the core buyer group. All of whom are getting on in years. They've driven prices to insane levels...and as they pull out and die off over the next decade those values are going to tank. Be very careful about how much you sink into any collector car at this point because the salad days are just about over, at least for a while.
Thank you for the insight of the compression fitting on the brake line. No one has ever brought that to my attention. I used a compression fitting when I installed a dual master cylinder on my 1961 Chevy Impala back in 1982. I still had that fitting when I installed power disc brakes on the front in 2020. That fitting is now 30+ years old and has traveled about 100,000 miles. At this point, I'm not sure what to do. You know the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
There are lots of them out in the wild on brake lines. It can work… but it’s not the right way to do it.
Yes there needs to be a lot more videos like this one. I think the auction house should bare some responsibility, but as always it's buyer beware.
Great video and walk thru for buyers. The auctions and people with more money then actual interest in cars, have ruined the hobby. It doesn't matter if the buyer can afford to have it fixed. This terrible purchase just artificially inflated the price of these cars. And that sucks for blue collar car lovers who will actually wrench and drive their cars.
I wonder if the seller at least had the decency to use any lube when they f***ed the buyer? You hit the nail on the head with this one Jaime, I guarantee your Charger is in far better shape than this thing.
Seriously. And again that’s not even the point I was trying to make. Not trying to make myself feel better or anything. Haha. I just feel bad for the buyer. And for the owner that sold it if they had to pay for that “restoration” job.
hi there,,am in canada,i had the 69 r/t 440 magnum auto,marine aqua blue white vinyl roof and a 383 68 charger,red/black auto.paid 400 dollars each in 1984/and 94,traded for body and paint on a baby monster truck stupid ay still hurts but know where there is garage finds still parked 40 years thanks for your channel cheers...
Just subscribed. Wanted to say thanks for educating anybody who saw the compression fitting and didn't understand why it was so wrong. 30 years ago I did a hydraulic clutch conversion in a Jeep . I needed it moving and had to cobble the line back together to the slave. I used a compression fitting.....and it worked. What I didn't understand was the continued cycling of pressure worked the fitting to failure. I didn't crash and I learned a lesson. Brakes are a different matter. Your first failure is potentially your last.
Yeah you do a repair to get you to a place where you can do a proper repair. My automotive education began with John Muir's "How to keep Your Volkswagen Alive and Well for the Compleat Idiot!" It held a lot of lessons about how and why on mechanics an life and I found it way better than Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
You're totally picking it apart and you have very valid points too many mistakes too many problems for that price mopar is expensive 170000 should get you a completely finished car
Just saw the article that a Ford Crown Vic can be converted into a late '60's Dodge Charger!
Looks like it was done by a 'bodyman' with limited mechanical skill... but body is the expensive stuff...
170,00 should get you a NOS new car with 10 miles on it.
Right on man. I see trash work like this alot. Recently had a Super bee come in that had a Grant steering wheel that the owner wanted to put back an original. The car came out of a name restoration shop. I got the wheel off and the aluminum adaptor and realized that the steering shaft was UPSIDE DOWN so that the blind spline was 180 out and they had just mashed the aluminum adaptor over the steel steering shaft because it was softer. Had to remove the shaft from the box and rotate it then put the original on with the splines lined up. Stupid people man. My wife even laughed at this one.
Absolutely maddening. A lot of what I do with old cars is going in behind people that don’t know and fixing dumb stuff - usually on the tune up and runability side of things.
Cool wife 👍
Just saw the article that a Ford Crown Vic can be converted into a late '60's Dodge Charger!
@@stuckinmygarage6220 The best!!!
@@BuzzLOLOL Saw that too, you have to Flip Over and Read Directions. . . .
I've been to a lot of Barrett-Jackson Auctions and they sell a lot of junk too and I've owned quite a few 68 Dodge Chargers and one Daytona and you're right none of them are perfect but I did have a couple of good ones the best one was when I was 17 I had a 68 Dodge Charger with the 440 and that was a lot of fun for a 17 year old
I worked at a Plymouth dealer as a tech in 1975 and bought a one owner 71,000 mile 68 RT auto running no rust for 200.00 dollars. After I sold my 1971 Pontiac gt37 leMans
Oh to have been around in those times…
Buyer beware... whoever bought this was a speculator hoping to make a ton of cash
Great video. Hopefully it's a "more money than brains" scenario. It would be sad if a hard working blue collar guy just spent his life savings on that car.
As much as I'd like a charger I'd never pay over 40k
I paid 52.5k, and at the time I thought it was a mistake. Luckily I basically paid for it with profit from other sales, and I thought no matter what happens I’ll be ok. Plus I was able to drive it home 300 miles. Still… I think you’re thinking right.
MECUM IS RESPONSIBLE, BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO HAVE THEIR PEOPLE CHECK THE CAR OUT BEFORE IT GOES ON THEIR AUCTION BLOCK SO PEOPLE BUYING DON'T GET RIPPED OFF.
I would think they would at least be responsible for making sure the car is safe. 👍
I bought 73 Dodge Charger SE Brougham from a guy who had Mecum try to offer to sell it for him.
I may have spent more than it's worth and it had typical 50 year old issues. But solid and mostly original. But I knew what I was getting into and checked it over completely before buying. That brake line you showed, froze my heart. DAAAAAMN!!! that's bad.
I worked for a short time at a very high end resto shop ,where one job involved reassembling a a 300Letter car . The owner was already into it for $250,000 when I got it running and the engine,a 413,had horrendous piston slap. . I told the owner it needed rebuilding and he got pretty upset as it had already eaten $40,000 . When we got it going it was sent off to a alignment specialist who refused to let it be driven back to the shop because the steering box,rebuilt by a very pricey shop here in my city, was no good. I sent it back to the US where it was rebuilt for less than the cost of freighting it to and from the USA. Lots of things were wrong with the car despite the money spent and i could only put it down to the shops company management cutting corners to to gain more profit. I decided to leave at that point. Recently the car sold for just over $75,000.
Wow. Yeah… making money is one thing. Charge enough to do a good job (not, you know, $1000 an hour) and do it right the first time. I’ve been in business for myself. My big challenge was trying to charge enough to pay the bills and survive. I just couldn’t take people like that. Those guys on the high end have the charging part down…
Very well done video. I appreciate are your objective and knowledgeable evaluation. More people should take a serious look at things and get less emotional over it before throwing their money at it. When you’re in an auction and you know other people are bidding on it, the pressure is on and sometimes people make a very stupid mistake. I guarantee if that car was sold in a different format there is no way someone would’ve paid that ridiculous amount for it
I really despise persons who get into our car hobby because it became popular and expensive due to car rarity and then dont rebuild the car correctly. Drives me nuts to see all the incorrect things on so cold original cars! I say the same for GM and Ford because ive come to appreciate all the rare examples. But as a mopar fan since I was 12 and have had my charger since I was 14 and now 50, STOP doing this! Not to mention you could kill this new owner whne they decide to hit the expressway and flog it or god forbid….powertour! Great video brother!
As a 16 year old I bought a 383charger non RT from my hometown dodge dealer exactly the same colors as this one for $1300 in late 1972. It had about 80,000 miles already because it belonged to a military guy. The good news is the dealer had freshly rebuilt the motor and it was a very clean car. I drove the heck out of it for about three years and sold it for $1200. It was a great car. I couldn’t afford one now.
I worked at a NAPA store years ago, and those compression fittings were an item that sold well. A lot of old cars had these fittings in their brake systems, but sold for under $1,,000, not $170,000. I think the person who bought the Charger is entitled to about a $150,000 refund. Buyer beware!!!
I just rewatched this video. This is a great video!!! Really informational. Keep doing them.
Sad thing is my buddy and I and another buddy restored a 68 super bee, not factory original but close and only had around 35k in it. So I don't get why people can't take pride in their work. The compression fitting on the brake line is a major no no and used to be illegal to install on brake lines, now they did have steel compression fittings for brake lines but thats besides the point, we bought all the brake lines new in stainless pre bent for the super bee for lil over $200 shipped. And they fit great no issues. So yeah wth?
I worked in auto parts for 18 years and have had customers leave mad because I wouldn't sell them a compression fitting after they told me they were going to use it on a brake line.
They still insisted it was fine after I said that may be one of my kids out there on road that they hit when the brakes fail, so then I told them to get out.
Compression fittings do NOT belong on brake line no matter what the value of the car.
Anyway, good call on that auction sale, it's bad all the way round.
I always hankered after a '71 Charger SE but just can't afford even a beater.
All the best.
You're not saying that these auctions are ruining the hobby, but they are. These auctions are attended by people with so much money they have to burn it somehow without actually burning it, and choose to spend it on classic cars.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think this car is junk. It looks to be an entry level project that someone can spend a weekend to make safe and driveable, and for a car this rare I think 50k would have been a fairer asking price.
But, when another man has too much money... Well ya know
No that really is what I’m saying. Lol. I think you’re a lot closer on what it’s really worth as it is, compared to the people that keep coming in here and saying ridiculous stuff like “THATS A 10k CAR TOPS”
@@DeadDodgeGarage I was just playing off your words when I used my opener. :P
But I agree with you 100%, it's the fact that it was sold at Meecum. Honestly, now that I think about it; purely speculating here though, someone who paid THAT much for that car probably didn't even inspect it and probably bought it to launder money.
Jamie, you most certainly are not wrong. You are extremely right this is the reason why the price for Mopars has gone absolutely through the clouds in the sky!!!!
This is a case where both seller and buyer should be publicly shamed.
Done!
Yeah, if I was spending that kind of money I would want to inspect it in person or have someone I trust inspect it. A car can look completely different in real life to what it does in a group of pictures. It would have to be a great deal to just buy it based on pictures.
My Uncle Steve had a black 440 68.. He raced it a lot and sold it to buy an SS Chevelle (1970). I loved that car.
The only thing that really upsets me is the compression fitting, I could understand if it was a "try to get it home" or "on a trailer" thing but it was not. Everything is an easy fix, well to me but I've worked with cars my entire life, but for that kind of money I do agree it should have been meticulously finished. I assume we've reached a point where the scarcity of these cars has put a 7 out of 10 or better in that price range.
The price range is what makes all of this a problem. It’s not at all uncommon or unexpected to have to work through problems and shortcomings when buying a car. Hell, that’s a good part of the fun. And - many people have commented to tell me they think the compression fitting is fine. I don’t get it.
Thanks for explaining that sir! I always looked the other way when seeing a repair done like this.. seen it done a lot, and thought a compression fitting would be good enuf. Now know differently cheers
At $170K I don’t want to have to completely disassemble the car I just bought…
Great video. 👍👍
That’s an expensive lesson.If you can spend so recklessly,you’re keeping the shady bastards in business.
My next project car 1968 charger. Believe it or not I have already started buying parts already without the car. Charger prices are insane but that is the way it is. Great video thank you love the channel 🤙🏻
I was at that auction and fell in love with that car. It was my first auction I’ve ever been to and the lighting was dim but that car was beautiful at a glance, I even have pictures on my phone!! I just stumbled on your blog by accident but recognized that car immediately, such a shame. Mecum Auctions should buy it back to save face and show authenticity.
😮 that’s interesting. Do you have any insights into how it ended up selling for that price? Crazy bidding war? Did they advertise the car as being a “survivor” as someone said? I wasn’t there. I never saw this car in person. I have only seen these listing pictures. And again, I have no horse in this race. I’m only here to comment on the nutso selling price and the obvious hackery.
I would say you nailed it. I would also say you are right about the auctions. I would also say that this stuff should be pointed out at the auction.
You are 100 % Correct I am a restorer and that what I am seeing is really a misrepresentation of a true classic that is safe? I would rather have a clean body to start with and build it myself!
The price doesn’t always reflect the demand or even the condition of a vehicle. It does however reflect the motivations of a buyer…to which, remains a mystery. But maybe…just maybe…this was the buyers first car ever and he found it after 35 years up for sale and would do whatever it took to reclaim his first love.
There are many possibilities.
That's crazy and I appreciate your knowledge and help. I just got a 1968 Charger project w/ title today.
I have an Uncle who lives in Arizona. When I visited he let me put our rental car in his garage and he said the car in front of me was a Charger Hemi that didn't run he's had it for 15 years and he thinks he can fix it someday. I know nothing about cars so I just saw it as an old dirty car. I have a 1995 VW Polo that runs sometimes.
I agree 100% . Its really said to know that this seller knew it would go for big money . Mecum used to have cameras that would go underneath these cars. And to pay this much for this csr and NOT even look at how it was painted ? Oh my. Or how about the preview of this car way before the auction .i dont understand . The ratchet strap really blew me away.
These paid prices just makes it worse down the road for future buyers. I also think Mecum should be partially responsible for this too.
If Mecum had rules with higher standards for these cars, you could bet $ that this wouldnt happen as much as it does now
Just one more thing . Who wants to have to take this car to a garage and pay $ to make sure the car they bought is all that ?
Not me . Great video.
My father bought a Red 68’ Charger with a 383 magnum brand new in 68’…we towed our StarCraft pop up camper with it for several years…I still have a picture of my father standing in front of it with the camper in the background…the good old days.
That’s so cool. I would love to do that with mine - or maybe tow a small boat. Our station wagon is probably the better choice though. More room for family and dogs, and 440 torque!
All these idiots do is set precedents so high that nobody in my generation can afford to appreciate the classics. I think thats a shame.
I agree.
And this is why I've resigned to the fact that I will never own my dream car. I don't make enough to compete in the market, and supporting my family is more important anyway. I'll have to continue to live vicariously through YT channels like this.
I'm a poor but relatively honest retired mechanic in the UK. For amusement, I build, in a wooden shed, restomods on classic Triumph Dolomites, usually with more modern fuel injected GM engines and transmissions. Not that I sell them, but if I did they would be relatively low budget cars, maybe only £12k max. But NOTHING i've done, even on my WORST day, is as bad as that Charger.
As hard up as I am, I have an ancient Pickavent pipe flaring tool for making hard brake lines (cost me a couple of hundred new, 30 years ago) Even so, using that compression fitting, probably designed for central heating, is unforgivable. ANY garage worth it's salt will have a tool like mine and would have made a new pair of pipes to pattern (the other one looked pretty rusty too) for only a few bucks, Hell, in the UK you can buy a whole SET of hard lines for most classic cars, made in cupro nickel so they don't rust away EVER again, for around £100. I bet that goes for the Charger over there too!
It's not only dangerous bodging, it's UN-NECESSARY dangerous bodging!
Exactly! It’s not like flaring a line is all that difficult! Annoying, maybe. And takes a few minutes more than this bad repair. But not that difficult. That does sound amusing!
Even though I don't have $ to spend on a muscle car I love them all the same. I enjoyed your video and appreciate you trying to forewarn others.
Brother, in the last five years this has become depressingly common. There are whole shops that do nothing but slap together and flip classic cars and then sell them at auctions. I have seen many cars that were so bad they were literal death traps. we're talking unmounted brake calipers, bodies barely connected the the frame. Rotted out frame rails covered in bondo, frame components literally missing, chunks of two by four replacing transmission mounts. fenders mounted on tack welded scrap steel because the actual mounts had rusted away. you just wouldn't believe it. I would guess probably half of all the classic cars going through recent auctions and for sale at classic car dealers are in this kind of shape
Oh, I know it… I’ve seen way worse than this. It’s just that this one was as bad as it was, but sold for top, top dollar for one of these cars that bothers me.
It's a shame someone forked over that amount of cash for this Charger.
Clearly all that glitters is not Gold.
Mecum should at the very least have an inspection for a potential High dollar Car. But as the saying goes Buyer Beware. Excellent Video I enjoyed the education.
Ive been doing body and paint for a guy who has been selling classic cars at Mecum for the past 20 years.
As much as i enjoy and appreciate classics. As a shop owner. We have to listen to what the client wants and within their budget. So we constantly throw lipstick on a pig.
I hate doing it. But if i dont do the work. Someone else will gladly do it.
I also see it this way. If someones spending that much money on a car, and doesnt have it properly inspected. They deserve to get screwed over.
Unfortunately, theres so much money to be made in this industry. Its allowed a ton of shoddy, half assed jobs to earn people big bucks.
My dad bought that's color combo 68 r/t 4bbl 440 automatic new. Loved driving it but he said it must have been built at 4pm on a Friday. Everything leaked, rattled and didn't fit together properly. Drove him nuts and he sold it within 2 years.
All those "collector car auctions" usually sell junk for millions of dollars or too much. They're the reason the collector car market got so saturated to have cars worth less than the amount paid at auction to skyrocket to those same prices. It's the same thing like having those funko pop guys enter your crowd and say they've got the rarest shit of all when it's just a repainted and remodeled piece of plastic in a paper housing.
Greetings from Los Angeles, I liked your video! Lots of good comments here too, seems junk like this has become more common on auctions or on the road. Similar to the Plymouth Superbird of Hoovies garage. There is a growing industry of selling nice looking junk because people are falling in line to buy them. Sure there is something wrong with the seller but there is also something wrong with the buyer.
No I completely agree. The buyer, the seller, the outlet. All are partially responsible for the horrible market we have now. My Charger is also a perfumed pig - but nowhere near this level of perfume (or pig)
People assume everything at these “high end” auctions are expertly restored. The buyer probably has a few bucks and is new to the collector car market. Tough lesson learned.
Note the chart for flare fittings was for a 37 degree flare - that's like an AN fitting. SAE is 45 degree and should be double flared. I think I'm one of the few that bother to double flare (I actually have extra mandrels because those little buggers tend to break). I think AN fittings are OK with single flare - but I did see a tool that claimed to be able to double flare a 37 degree fitting.
Mecum is well known for selling polished Turds. They limit access and do not allow inspections before bidding other than a passing glance. That is why i avoid these Older Mecum polished turds. One must be wise. Buyer Beware, but, so many with money think they are getting value when they are getting a shining Turd.
Videos like this make me feel so fortunate I was able to get my 72 nova from the second owner with all original parts even trim and emblems original paint and no body work ever done. It might have a tiny bit of usual nova rear fender rust but no flashy paint hiding shotty body work or weird short cuts. I think it is REALLY important these days to try to find something super solid for less money and do the work yourself then trust these really nice looking "restorations". These cars are just too old and most have changed hands so many times it is impossible to know the true build quality after all the years of guys wrenching on these things in their backyards.
I feel the same way about my Demon - and to a lesser extent, my Charger. The Demon is almost all original paint. The original V belts are in a box… I don’t have the original tires or the air that came out of them, but I have just about everything else. I know exactly what it is and what it isn’t. My Charger had some repairs and a cheap paint job done. It’s not amazing, but it’s easy to see what has been done, and it will be easy enough to redo later. It’s not a total hack job. I’d be very, very wary of anything that looks shiny and “new” like this.
my dream car since I was a teen in the 1980s has always been a '68 Charger. I know one day ....... I will still not be able to afford one. But I do have a 1/25th model kit of one. ❤
Dumb and disappointing. The auctions and the pay-pigs who line their pockets do seem to run-up
the hobby to unapproachable levels for people who would love to drive them around.
People with crazy money to spend usually aren’t mechanically inclined and know what to look for. I know a local rich guy that bought a 1969 Camaro at one of these auctions and I don’t think he was ever even able to drive it. It was nice and shiny, but was a total piece of junk mechanically. It’s hard to determine who’s at fault, the goofball selling it, or the goofball buying it.
Everyone involved in the transaction is at fault - and all of us lose.
The sad fact is that lots of these buyers have more money than sense. Yeah, they might have their mechanic look the car over before driving it, but that's highly doubtful. And who knows if their mechanic is gonna catch all the unsafe features. There is a LOT that can go wrong when piloting a 50 year old muscle car down the road, especially when it's driven "spiritedly", which most of us do, and you can bet the buyer of this Charger romped on it when he got it. Hopefully he managed to avoid maiming or killing himself and others. It's scary out there, boys and girls!
I couldn't agree with you more. I've spent my adult life as an enthusiast and hobbyist. As a hobbyist/enthusiast I'm appalled by the shenanigans of "restorers," "restoration shops" and swaggering, self-anointed "experts," not to mention greedy auction houses who bear zero responsibility for the dangerous junk they are hyperbolically peddling to the unsuspecting bidders.
I know a guy in my car club who purchased multiple cars that looked "good" in the auction lane but had many issues making them unsafe for driving.
Sellers, I was told, had plenty of excuses...
Compression fittings are actually a common cheap fix I see regularly. They do leak eventually. You can actually tighten any line or fitting properly to ensure they don't leak but few people know what to do. So here is the proper procedure to tighten any line, fitting, or coupling. First snug it on both sides, then go back and apply more pressure so it is tight... but wait, here is the trick... take a magic marker and draw a line across all the pieces in the connection. Now go back and lightly loosen the fitting then retorque it. You will notice that you can actually gain about 1/4 more of a turn on it. Then... don't forget to firmly attach a body clip to eliminate vibrations. Vibrations cause leaks and breaks in hydraulic lines (booms on backhoes, diesel injector lines, etc). Lastly, the mismatched paint on the doors and quarter panels is caused by 1 or 2 things. The painter failed to keep the whole gallon of metallic mixture continously swirled every 5 minutes OR they painted the door at 30 psi and then the quarter panel at 50 psi, open the fan spray width. These conditions cause metallic paints to alter their tone.
We’ve got a non-metallic yellow Cuda at work currently with similar mismatched paint problems, so there are definitely several ways to skin that cat… getting that extra “cinch” is definitely essential to get flares to seat. I stand by what I said about using compression fittings in brake systems. And yes, I know people do it all the time. They shouldn’t. I personally don’t want a fitting that will “leak eventually” holding 2000 PSI of pressure inside my braking system.
0:33 For not being an advertisement, that actually looked really good
Mecum should be doing basic checks to guarantee a certain level of expectation. ..
Perhaps a mechanical safety inspection .
Brutal.